Earlier this year when driving home from Vermont to Connecticut, we stopped in Buckland, Massachusetts and couldn’t resist following the signs to the library. This is the gem that we found!

Buckland Public Library
30 Upper Street
Buckland, MA 01338
Website: bucklandpubliclibrary.org

Original building dedicated on July 4, 1891
Addition: 2010

According to Libraries.org:

• the collection contains 9,085 volumes
• the circulation is 26,919 items annually
• the library serves 1, 847 residents

This is such a handsome brick library. I love all the right angles, the symmetry, and the contrast of the arch. Such an inviting building.

There’s something beckoning about an arched entryway into a library. Lovely custom sign.

I have a thing for cornice shots and must start carrying my camera. The iPhone doesn’t capture details very well.

A peek through the front doors. The library was closed (it was a Sunday). To see a historic photo of the interior click here. The tablet hanging over the fireplace states that the “Buckland Church Library” was founded in 1890. To see a close-up of the tablet click here.

The original library building is the square portion on the left. From the archway to the right is an edition that was built in 2010, which obviously greatly expanded the library’s space, yet is also in harmony with the lines of the original building.

The new entrance.

The Book Drop.

Even the outside of libraries can be places to learn new things. Great idea to reuse padded envelopes as vehicles to keep returned DVDs protected when they’re dropped in the box.

The back of the library.

A peek through the back window.

Perhaps the coolest and most original library sign ever.

Close up of the mosaic.

1891 photo of the library with Clara Bement, the first librarian, standing in the doorway. (Source: Digital Commonwealth)

If I should find myself driving near Buckland again, I hope it’s during the library’s open hours.